Flash Party

How pickleball and a hurricane remade our neighborhood

To hear the related 5-minute audio file that I uploaded today as my Morning Journal flash briefing for Alexa devices, please click on the play button:

I created a summary of yesterday’s Morning Journal using Otter.ai. It was super easy. I uploaded the 5-minute .m4a audio file to Otter. The result was a summary and transcript, presented here with light editing:

Summary

Len announces plans for an end-of-season party for neighbors. The idea was inspired by the community's unity after Hurricane Ian and previous social gatherings. Using Doodle to schedule the event and Grok to design invitations featuring pickleball players and palm trees, he is eager to host with help from friends Janet and Frank. Despite the time-consuming invitation design, Len is excited about the opportunity to engage with neighbors, who have been supportive since he and Darlene and Deb began wintering in Sanibel. Len also mentions the challenges of being an introvert but is looking forward to the party.

Action Items

• [ ] Send out the party invitation with the details.

• [ ] Create a spreadsheet for people to sign up for potluck contributions.

• [ ] Design an attractive party invitation featuring pickleball players and palm trees.

• [ ] Clean the house in preparation for the party.

Outline

End of Season Party Planning

• Len announces the plan for an end-of-season party for neighbors.

• The idea for the party emerged after the hurricane, which brought the community closer together, and previous social gatherings like Janet and Frank's Friendsgiving potluck dinner.

• Doodle was used to find a suitable date for the party, and a spreadsheet will be sent out for sign-ups.

• The invitation design is being meticulously worked on, featuring pickleball players and palm trees, despite the urgency to finalize it.

Neighborhood Connections and Community Building

• Len reflects on the lack of close neighbors in previous living situations in Casper and Denver, contrasting it with the current community in Sanibel.

• He describes the new experience of neighborliness, including random encounters, parties, and playing pickleball together.

• The community is described as having neighbors who are good at being neighbors, always ready to help and reach out.

• Len acknowledges feeling like an introvert but enjoys engaging with his neighbors and working to make the party a success.

Final Preparations and Anticipation

• Len reiterates the plan for the end-of-season party, which is the reason for the delay in posting yesterday's Morning Journal flash briefing (Thanks to Kes Woodward for the reminder!).

• Despite the busy schedule, Len finds the project energizing and enjoyable.

• Len mentions the beautiful weather and the possibility of playing pickleball later in the day.

• He expresses excitement for the upcoming party and thanks the listeners for their attention.

Transcript

Good morning. I've gotten tied up in a creative project here, so I'm way late with the Morning Journal. Today is Monday, St Patrick's Day, and the 17th of March.

We've decided to put together kind of a pop up party for the neighbors, because people are starting to be heading toward the north, so we're going to do an End of Season arty for our neighbors. And you know, the neighbors in our area, we didn't really know them until the hurricane, more than two years ago, when Hurricane Ian just rolled through the whole island and devastated everybody's home, the neighbors came together.

We would eat at restaurants, and then we met at parties, and our friends, Janet and Frank, had a friends giving potluck dinner party around Thanksgiving time. And we've gone to all these parties, and loved meeting the neighbors. And I just thought, well, it's time for us to have the neighbors over, and with Janet and Frank's help as co-hosts, we've picked a date.

I used Doodle to find a time when most of us could get together, and I'm going to send out a spreadsheet with what people are going to sign up for, and I'm using Grok to design an attractive invitation that shows pickleball players and palm trees.

I'm spending way too much time on the invitation. I really need to get this out, because we're inviting people to prepare food and come over in two days from now, on Wednesday. But a fun project, and it's, it's energizing, because this is kind of new to me.

You know, Darlene and I, for a long time, we had friends in Casper when we lived there, but we lived kind of up on a mountain. We didn't have any real neighbors nearby. And then when we lived in Denver, we were in a condo, and a condo living is a kind of neighborliness. You see people in the elevators and you get together, but, but here, when I ride my bike to the play pickleball at the club, you know, pass the neighbors, and we wave, we say hi, we stop, and we visit, And we play pickleball together.

Neighborliness is something which I am kind of learning as I go, and some of the neighbors are really good at it. I mean, we've got neighbors that they know how to be good neighbors. They're always there to help, and they reach out. And I feel like an introvert neighbor sometimes, but you know, you make lists, you send out an invitation, you get your house clean. Darlene, and Deb are going to help, and we're going to have a party. We're going to have an End of Season party here this week, and that's why I'm so late with the Morning Journal.

And so, yeah, I'm looking forward to it. And it's a beautiful day here. I didn't get to play pickleball because it was too windy and--maybe later in the day.

That's what's happening here in Sanibel. Thanks for listening!