And now he's in tenth grade and will probably be driving by this time next year. And Callie is in 11th grade! But she doesn't want to drive yet, because she can just Uber everywhere. Lol.
Of course, we waited til the last minute to buy school clothes, and shoes and stuff. And we ordered it all online this year, because Volusia County switched to polo shirt "uniforms," so all the kids will look pretty much exactly the same. Shopping has never been easier. Lol.
I spent almost the entire weekend at the rehab and working on my solve. I made progress, for sure. I now know what I think is the location of Forest's secret fishing spot, but I'm not convinced it's the spot where the treasure is hidden.
Next weekend, I'm taking a break from the poem solving, and I'm going to do some painting. I'm sort of disappointed in myself that I didn't do any this weekend. And the weekend went by way too fast, too.
Tomorrow is James' birthday. I'll have to think of something special. I think he's coming down for my birthday next month, and we'll celebrate both then. :)
Okay, I'm going to give you all a hint. As I progress with my solve, I've realized that you probably could use just the poem to find the treasure, but you would have to be extremely lucky. And I mean extremely! You would basically be playing hit or miss with the thousands of warm waters halting with canyon downs, etc. And then when you figure in the possibility of alternate meanings for the words in the poem (ie, yellow equals warm, waters equal tears, etc), then you can multiply the possible starting locations by several thousand more.
Using the book to help makes it infinitely easier to locate the PRECISE starting point. If you read the poem, then read the book slowly, you'll find places where warm waters halt, and on the pages where warm waters halt, you will find subtle hints that are very important. I'll give you one example.
When Forrest says something is important or useful, you can be sure it's important and useful. On one particular page in TTOTC, there is this sentence, "...punctuate the moment with something useful, like a waiter or the paperboy."
Punctuate means to give something emphasis, or to mark in a way to give emphasis to. Okay, so why did he say "a waiter" and "the paperboy?"
Because, the PHOTOS are important.
Page through the book and find the picture of Forrest as "the paperboy." Such an innocent picture, don't you think? However, look closer. Really really close. Concentrate on the light and dark areas. Your eyes will take a while to adapt, but they will, if you have a brain that allows a little imagination.
But is there a picture of a waiter in TTOTC? I couldn't remember, so I slowly flipped through the book and looked at the captions below the pictures. And I almost couldn't believe my eyes when I found the pic with the caption that Donnie looked like an "untipped waiter." And the picture, even with untrained eyes, looked fishy to me. However, after staring hard at pics for a few days, certain things in that picture practically leaped out to grab me by the shoulders as if to say, "What took you so long?"
And that, my friends, is a huge hint. However, I've learned that even though I'm convinced this is right and have tons of evidence, with coordinates and place names and highway names and intersections, maybe only one or two of you reading this will abandon your current methods to check mine out. Everyone believes so much in their own solves that they aren't open to anyone else's. Heck, even James hasn't abandoned his solve despite what I've shown him and what he's seen with his eyes. But that's okay. No one has to believe me for it to be right.
One thing I've discovered, though, is that girls seem to have an advantage, because our eyes seem to adapt better than men's, and men have a harder time discerning colors and distinctions between colors.
I'll even give you a couple of words I've found, out of the good will of my heart.
I've found "US 12 at I 15," which I didn't know at the time I found it, is an intersection in Helena, Montana.
I've found Bessie, and May, and May 2nd. I know what Bessie refers to, but that's a secret I'm not telling. I'm not sure what the significance of May 2nd is, but here are a few things I've found on the Internet:
1670 – King Charles II of England grants a permanent charter to the Hudson's Bay Company to open up the fur trade in North America.
1964 – Vietnam War: An explosion sinks the USS Card while it is docked at Saigon.
1955 – Tennessee Williams wins the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. (Remember the pic of the tiger pelt on the tin roof in TTOTC?"
1892 – Birth of Manfred von Richthofen, German captain and pilot (d. 1918)
It's real significance is probably none of those, but I thought these are the ones I know about that are worth noting.
Anyway, my time in the mornings have grown shorter for a few weeks until the school drop off line smooths out their wrinkles.
You go girl, you had better go get it before someone uses your vision for making since of the poem and snatches it right out from under you! Have you discussed this with Mr. Fenn? He might tell you if you are off or not or to keep going!!! Good luck!! Ms. Girl