The Puerto Rico tourists never see

Flamboyant - aptly named

 When I think of Puerto Rico, I picture a little wooden house with a zinc roof and a flamboyant tree. Although there are fewer wooden houses than in the "old days", there are still flamboyants that line the streets and countryside in bold bright colors. The red/orange, yellows and blue/purples grace the streets and highways with their bonsai like form and brilliant colors.

It’s too bad that most tourists will never see this scene because the flamboyant blooms in the heat of the summer and doesn’t last very long.  During the winter months when tourists appear from all parts of the world, the flamboyants are barely visible.  The green trees are camouflaged by their surroundings and are hardly noticed.

·  Plant - Delonix regia

·  Delonix regia is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae. It is noted for its fern-like leaves and flamboyant display of flowers. Wikipedia

21st Century at TJ Ranch

Although most of the world is well into the 21st Century, TJ Ranch is comfortably enjoying the advantages of the 20th Century. We may be 'late bloomers', but that's just fine with me.

In 1991 we got a telephone land line. It's quite extraordinary to tell your 24 year old that he was born before we had a telephone. About five years later we had a large satellite for television viewing. We no longer had to choose between three Puerto Rican stations; we had a whole realm of shows and movies. Our satellite didn't get local stations, so for many years we were unaware of local news or politics. TJ Ranch was a world to itself, an oasis from the "real world"...not actually 'off the grid', just off in our own world.
Then we got a computer and I became adept at the workings of e-mail and "the web." Perhaps because of the slow speed of dial-up, the kids never became enthralled with cyberspace. They learned enough to get by, but not much else. And that's where we were at the end of the 20th Century...and that's just about where we are today.

We have satellite internet and laugh at the ole dial-up days although  when I proudly offered our wifi to a teen-age guest and told him he wouldn't be able to watch some you tubes, stream events, play online games or even skype, he didn't understand. I guess we haven't advanced all that much. 

We have a website and facebook page...and that's about it. I never use my twitter account....it kind of feels like the question," when a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound?" If I tweet....can anybody hear? does anybody care? I am "linked-in"...not sure to whom...or why. Instagram, netflix, pintrest, etc., etc. are all happening now, but not at TJ Ranch. Even a smart phone seems pretty stupid here. With scant cell service and slow downloads, a phone becomes...just a phone...and perhaps a camera.

And so here we are...able to e-mail and even bank online. Our new television has more capabilities than a rocket, but we're just fine with our little bit of technology. 

By the way...what's that thing that can skip commercials???