Passing Through Florence

 Travels With Jerry (to borrow from Steinbeck)
    Another post for loyal readers and for the other few who wonder where I am (and more importantly, where my wife is.) I just mentioned (bragged) that we were recently in Paris and Rome and, given that we were in those two well-known places, decided to bypass Florence. The Florence passed, I will add, is the one in South Carolina, not the other one in Mississippi. That one was named after some guy's wife, the one skipped was named after General Harlle's daughter. That we skipped Florence was not because of General Harlee's southern past, but because my companion didn't like the name of the river passing through it - the Pee Dee.
   Having attracted you with the names with which you are familiar I will now say that we are in Lumberton, which you may not have heard of, but which once was on the 'Grand Tour' for those returning from the 'Low Country.' From here, I will say only that we are descending to Duck, which will actually be the high point of the trip except, of course, for those encounters with family members.
 
The Bonus:
   Not much substance again, so here is something else to read. It is actually brought to you courtesy of a very large billboard, which displayed in very large letters, these words: VEGETARIAN RECOVERY CENTER. It was for Smokin' D's BBQ. (As an aside (and actually another bonus), I will say that the billboards advertising "adult-type" places seemed to have toned down a bit, perhaps because of the purifying effects of the current President. The one noticed mentioned in it the word "mindful", which may sound a bit 'woke', but not at all prurient. But, back under Biden we passed one that said - "Every Day Is Hump Day."

Post Script: The Duck destination exists. It is at the higher end of the Outer Banks and should still be there this year.

"ASS OVER TINCUPS"

     That expression is not the one I uttered when I slipped off the stairs on the wet deck early in the dark morning of yesterday. It would likely be the one I would use to describe the experience to you. I am using it now to make another point about blogging.
     The point is that much of what we (or perhaps just I) say quickly and naturally when speaking causes us to pause and think when we go to write it down.  Why would I use such a phrase and what does it mean? Should I write "ass over tin cups" or "ass over teacups or tea cups"?  We also notice how much we use such idioms when we attempt to describe or explain something to those who don't speak our language.
     I offer this brief aside since just a few days ago I discussed why I am blogging. Writing something rather than saying it forces one to be a little more careful even if no one is likely to read it. Often when you look up the word or phrase you learn that you were wrong and, if not, you learn something anyway.
    In this case I now know that the phrase I used is a variant of the British expressions "arse over tip (or tit)", or "arse over header" or even "head over heels." Perhaps here in Canada I should have said "tail over teakettle" and "arse" instead of "ass". I could go on: T.S. Eliot used one of the expressions in a letter. One also finds interesting sources such as Green's Dictionary of Slang or the very useful English Language & Usage Stack Exchange. Learning such things barely leaves enough time to blog.
  In any case, I am fine and almost as fit as a fiddle. Perhaps. Now I may look to find out what exactly that means.