Nov
12
Danger in the mist
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I saw a trailer for a new movie coming out that spooked me and took me back to something scary from 20 years ago: The Mist by Stephen King.
The plot is classic Stephen King - something unknown and unseen is scaring the bejeebers out of the townfolks. In this case, it’s creatures hidden in a mist after a terrible storm.
Twenty years ago, my father owned a boat and we’d go fishing off the Homosassa River. Boaters in Florida know that you can see a thunderstorm coming from miles away, and you need to head in to shelter because those suckers can move fast. In this case, it was winter and there was no storm. We were fishing on an overcast day.
An overcast day on the water just looks gray. At some point, we found ourselves enveloped in a foggy mist without realizing it even happened. We were only 10 miles or so from the mouth of the river, but we could see no landmarks, not even the sun. We turned on the Loran and pointed the bow towards a waypoint, but we could literally not see 6 feet away from the boat, In addition, we couldn’t hear anything because of the motor.
Unlike the movie where creatures attack people, we had to look out for inorganic monsters - other boats. We knew there were other boats on the water, and the only way to get back tot he river was a narrow channel cut through very shallow water. We were reasonably confident in the Loran to keep us out of the shoals, but we knew that channel could very well be filled with people like ourselves.
What’s the solution of father’s everywhere in this situation?
Send the oldest out on the bow to watch and listen for danger.
Thanks Dad.
It was a terrifying 2 hour crawl to make it those 10 miles. But, obviously, we did it. Remind me to tell you about the time my brother and I got caught 30 miles out in a thunderstorm with an engine that wouldn’t go above 1200 RPMs.
Aug
17
My idea of a perfect Caribbean vacation
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I’ve always wanted to go to the Caribbean on vacation. Hey, Florida’s great, but sometimes I need a change of scenery. Every time I’ve mentioned it to anyone, they always start with “Hey, there’s this cruise ship…”, to which I jam my fingers in my ears and spin around singing “la la la la la la…”.
Cruise ships and yours truly don’t mix. Traveling on someone else’s timetable, cramped quarters, and the ever-present Norwalk virus are not my ideas of how to spend time relaxing on Caribbean vacations.
A nice quick flight, a beachside hotel or resort, and fruity-umbrella drinks at a tiki bar - THAT’S living!
My parents visited St. Kitts a few years back, when my father was doing business down there. English-speaking, mandatory education through the 12th grade, and a higher literacy rate than the US made it attractive. Each visit, they stayed in high-end resorts for the same price as you’d pay for a Motel 6 outside of the gates at Disney World.
Poking around On The Beach, I found place that hit me juuuussssst right: The Flamboyant Hotel on Granada. Open-air dining and a beachside cabana take care of the basic needs, and complimentary kayaks and pedal boats for when I feel the need to stretch my muscles a bit. Oh, and the ocean, can’t forget about that, right?
Aug
12
Car donations
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Several weeks ago, I wrote about my experience donating a car to charity, in relation to a post about donating a boat to charity. tonight, I want to highlight an organization that donates vehicles.
You could do what I did and scour the web and the yellow pages for an organization that is willing, worthy and qualified from a tax deductible standpoint to accept your donation of a car. Or, you could go through an organization like Car Angel ministries to Donate Your Car In Los Angeles.
When donating a car, you’ll need to check Publication 78 to find charities that qualify to be used to take advantage of the car to donate for tax rebates. You’ll also need to know how the charity intends to use the vehicle in order to know what you can deduct. For instance, if the charity sells the vehicle, your deduction is limited to the price for which the charity is able to sell the vehicle. But, you can deduct the fair market value if the charity uses the vehicle for a program or donates the vehicle to a needy person in order to help that person.
Substantial documentation is also required by the IRS. Therefore, it helps to work with an organization like Car Angel ministries, which takes the donation and disposes of it swiftly, then posts the sales results online where the donor can print a 1098 compatible donation receipt at tax time.
While this post is targeted for Los Angeles Car Donations, you should know that nationwide pick-up of your car donation is available. You can also choose from an extensive list of charities to fund with your donation: from across America. You decide the project you wish to fund with your donation: Health, Education, Welfare, Religious Studies, Homeless, or Prison Reform. Among the projects funded by Car Angel Ministries is Free DVDs for Kids, which produces a five-episode series of animated videos that are being distributed to preschools, Sunday schools, and libraries free of charge.
So, here’s a chance to do something good, and an organization that will make it easy for you. Check it out.
Jul
31
Donate the boat to Boat Angel
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Several years ago, I had an old car that had been handed down several times. By the time I was ready to spring for a new (to me) vehicle, the old beater was hardly worth the money it would take to list an ad. Instead, we chose to donate the car and take a deduction. Sure, we didn’t have the cash, but we still got enough credit for it that the tax savings were about equivalent to the value of the car. No negotiating with strangers, no worrying about who was going to call my house and convince my wife to let them see the car while I was at work, no muss, no fuss.
And, we got to do something nice for a deserving local charity.
Did you know you could do the same thing with a boat? Boat Angel is a 501-c-3 non-profit specializing in handling the necessities of a Boat Donations. The organization is a clearinghouse really, allowing you to donate a working or non-working boat and specifying the charity you’d like to see receive the proceeds. Just like my experience with the car, you have none of the hassles associated with selling the boat. Taking it a step further, you also don’t have to search out a deserving charity that meets the requirements of the IRS. Simply choose from the list of deserving partner charities, and Boat Angel will take care of everything, including picking up the boat.
If the question is “How Do I Donate my Boat? Boat Angel would be the place to start.
