Lamar Thames

A couple of months ago, I told you about a new web site my son was developing for me to operate and I said I would let you know when it was up and running.
Well, it has been available for a while now and it has 10 articles on it for your reading pleasure. It is called www.wanderingtourist.com. It is a travel web site that mostly features articles about lesser-known tourist venues in Florida and the Southeast, with a couple of exceptions.
One of those exceptions is the series of submissions a friend of mine, Wayne Bolla, is posting about his sailing adventure to the Mediterranean Sea, with a couple of stopovers along the way. I think you will like Wayne’s writing and the photographs he took.
Another article was written by my son, Robert, about his excursion to a family reunion during the Taste of Chicago Festival around the Fourth of July. It is well done, even if I say so myself.
The two web sites are my attempts to both generate some income and keep my mind occupied while I try to figure out what to do with the rest of my life. While I have not given up hopes of returning to work, I know that reality grows dimmer with every economic report published showing a stagnant job market.

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This gum tree towered nearly 300 feet within 10 feet of the back of my house.

By LAMAR THAMES

I have a confession to make. I am a big woosy. That probably isn’t surprising to those of you who know me, but let me explain.

Recently, I have had to hire two contractors for major work around my house. Both were going to cost a significant amount of money (at least to me) and the prospect scared me to death. I didn’t want to make a mistake in hiring either one of them, but I didn’t have any personal experience with doing it. Thus my dilemma.

The first chore was to pick a roofing contractor. Over the years, I have had to pay several thousand dollars for minor repairs to the old roof caused by falling limbs from a giant gum tree in the backyard. The most recent repair was going to be about $1,500. My wife and I decided to have the roof replaced instead, since it was nearly 17 years old and showing signs of wear.

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