Gray Pride

As some of you may remember, about a year ago I revealed that I was originally from the upper part of Russia and my real last name was Wilsonofski.  One of my favorite memories is of a vacation my family took to East Germany.  The place appealed to me because of the consistency of the colors...gray skies, gray buildings, gray streets, gray smoke belching out of factory chimneys, gray clothing.  I liked the uniformity.  As political freedoms opened up, we applied and were given the freedom to emigrate to the US.  My father studied the US and it was determined that Ohio and New Jersey were most like the 1960's era of industrial East Germany. gray, gray and more gray.  We decided to move to Ohio and there we shortened our last name to Wilson. 

Oh, traffic was roaring along I-95 and I made good time.

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Gray still appeals to me as I live in a gray house, have gray smoke belching from the chimney, the sky is almost always gray, the streets are gray and after a few days, each new snowfall turns gray.  I love it.  The trip to Florida was an assault on my senses and I did not like it.  The grass was green, yellow and brown depending on the area, the sky was powder blue in the morning, a deep blue in the afternoon and a translucent blue/black in the evening punctuated by a brilliant orange ball which was yellow earlier in the day.  At night, there were white orbs twinkling in the sky.  I fought headaches all day and was disoriented by the variety.  Add to that the warm temperatures, warm breeze wafting off the Gulf with a hint of saltwater..it was too much.  As I drove north today, I could not wait to get to West Virginia which usually signals the return to a gray existence and I was not disappointed.  Then, into the lovely drab gray of Ohio.  Nirvana for sure and I am glad to be back.  Please, someone whack me over the head with a 2x4 with a guarantee I will awake on May 1.

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Wow, a van with a license from Alaska!

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