Otto

We went into Southwest last evening for the open shops, the music, and to grab a bite of dinner. Hmmm. *Some* shops stayed open. There was no music. I was, however, able to explore some delightful shops that I otherwise might have missed and that was fun. Dinner was at the Quietside Cafe (recommended by Baby Bear and Boo Boo). It was a great experience and the apple pie with pecan streussel topping was amazing. Papa Bear had their pastrami and swiss. I had their fish burger. Simple food. A fun place. They also sell ice cream and amazing-looking large cookies and brownies and macaroons and blueberry pie and other meals. I noticed that the War Common lists the names of WWI, WWII and Korean veterans who gave their lives for this nation. Could not find a place (even on the back) that listed Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who have also given their lives. Do not know if this community has been particularly lucky in those conflicts and has experienced no losses or if they simply have not moved to undertake this recognition/appreciation as yet.


There is a bank in Southwest that digitally displays the current time and then the current temperature. It seems to get the time correct reliably. When the temperature is displayed in degrees Fahrenheit, that also seems reliable. However, when the temperature is displayed in degrees Celsius (or such is our imagining as to what information is being conveyed), it always says the same thing: 18.8. When I first saw the display, I thought this would be a great way for me to learn how to feel with my skin Celsius temperatures (as in, "Oh, it feels about 18.8 today"). However, given that the display is always the same, I am not making much progress in that endeavor. A translation from Celsius to Fahrenheit of 18.8 yields about 66 degrees. You must understand that we have seen this 18.8 on cloudy cool days, on hot days, and at night ... We are either misunderstanding what the display is trying to tell us or soemthing is not quite correct ...

On the way back to the House on the Cove, there was a driver in front of us who was being a bit erratic. I asked Papa Bear if the headlights on our car were on (I wanted the other driver to have as much help seeing us as needed). He told me that they were on. He went on to share, "Otto turned them on." I asked, "Otto? You have someone in this car who turns on the car's headlights?" He replied, "Yes. Otto does many things for me. Otto does the gear shifting, turns on the headlights, changes the compass direction, tells me how many more miles I have until I have to refuel the car, etc." I thought about this Otto a bit. I queried, "Does Otto have a last name?" Papa Bear said, "Yes. It is Mobeel. Otto Mobeel."

We laughed all the way home!!!