To occupy my time I think of where I'd rather be at this exact minute, and I wish I was in Key West. I wish I was on a cozy bed at the angelina guesthouse, listening to the thunder outside, drinking vitaminwater and eating popcorn. And I wish I was there with Mia. Summer seem so very far away now, and I just wish I was back there again....I was only there for a week, but apparantly thats all it takes to fall in love with a place.

Key West, pretty pretty place. I'll be back, or at least I hope I will be. xx

Bad Diet.

We are being fed one crap sandwich after another, and unfortunately, it appears that from here on out, it is crap sandwiches as far as the eye can see. Secretary of the Treasury Paulson says the U.S. Economy is not out of the woods, and in for some more tough sledding. This naturally occurs when you a hire a fox to watch the chicken house as they say in rural America.  Things are so bad, Mexico is considering building their own fence to keep out Wall Street Brokers, financial advisory personnel and stock brokerage workers.

Naked Gnomes of Finance.

With the titan’s of finance standing humbled and broken amongst us, no hero’s on the horizon to turn to. Having invested lavishly in financial instruments neither they, nor virtually anyone else truly understood, the entire house of cards came tumbling down in a matter of weeks. When we looked for all those people “that ran on a platform of LEADERSHIP all we found were a bunch of bickering, fighting children” talking ideologies and hurling blame and hurt feelings, but offering little in the way of solutions. That right there, is enough to throw water on any good ol boy’s parade. To feed ‘em their own words … That is Priceless.

Professionals at work.

See how Congress has modified the Paulson Plan.  Originally 2 pages, now 451+ pages.  This excerpt shows an important addition (perhaps omitted due to an oversight by Secretary Paulson), that illustrates an important aspect of our political regime.  All the hogs rushed to the trough and this is what they added.

Change The Logo

It is fairly easy to be a Politically Correct Liberal in America, especially when you live in a gated community. The Republican Party should change their national emblem from an elephant to a prophylactic, because it stands for inflation, halts production, protects a bunch of pricks, and gives a false sense of security when one is being screwed. Assuming that either the left win or the right wing gains control of the country, it will probably just fly around in circles and of course, passing out worthless checks.

Backyard gardening, now you can grow your own.

Health food stores are experiencing a rush in Italy as researchers isolated an erection inducing plant compound in a widely sold Chinese Herb know as “Horny Goat Weed” (No, I am not making this up) the compound icarin, may be as effective as Viagra, they are saying. We have “medical marijuana” why not grow something useful right next to it, if you find yourself watering for more than four hours, call a physician.

Times are really getting bad now.

Playboy is laying off bunnies, but there is a bright side, think of all the money Hugh Hefner will save on batteries! And the world economy continues to take more casualties.  This morning I read where one of my overseas friends is getting down and it takes one more casualty.

Take care ... Things will get better ... I hope.

Don’t be a victim Jen, be a cheer leader!

Like my sainted Grandmother used to say ….. Look for the Rainbow Donnie … There is always a good side. As Michael Beaudet of Key West, Florida said after being rescued from his disabled sail boat after being adrift for some six days: “First the rum ran out, the cigarettes ran out, then the food ran out, and then the water was gone. Thank God for the rain!”

Sign of the times

Highway authorities throughout the country are being bedeviled by thieves who keep stealing highway markers bearing the numbers “666” or “66.6.” In New Jersey at least four such signs have been swiped, either by religious zealots who are upset with the numbers’ biblical association with the devil, or by young people who think it is cool to have a 666 sign in their bedrooms. Officials are countering with changing the route to 665.

Pass me the Salsa and some of them chips.

Within a decade, Mexico will catch up to the U.S. to become one of the worlds fattest nations, the Mexican government announced this week. Already, half of Mexicans are overweight and obesity among children is rising steadily. New cases of high blood pressure and diabetes have increased more than 25% over the past five years.

Low class act.

Adran Ghalib, the paparazzo who dated Britney Spears during her long downward spiral is peddling a two-hour sex tape of the singer, in which she performs wearing nothing by a pink wig. He said he is “open to the best offer” but … get this … Is too much of a gentleman to reveal any embarrassing information about his ex. I am not interested in selling out any other details about Britney. Talk about a bottom-feeder this has to be him.

Isolate the problem.

During Gov. Sarah Palin’s (R-AK) speech in Florida this morning, campaign staffers kept the press locked out of the park and away from supporters attending the speech. Constantly under the watchful eyes of security, the media wasn’t permitted to wander around inside Coachman Park to talk to Sarah Palin supporters. When reporters tried to leave the designated press area and head toward the bleachers where the crowd was seated, an escort would dart out of nowhere and confront him or her and say, “Can I help you?” and turn the person around.

When one reporter asked an escort, who would not give her name, why the press wasn’t allowed to mingle, she said that in the past, negative things had been written. The campaign wanted to avoid that possibility Monday. Palin has still yet to give a single press conference since being tapped as Sen. John McCain’s running mate on August 29.

Where the **** are we?

Speaking at a San Francisco fundraiser on Sunday, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) “fumbled” while praising U.S. soldiers in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, referring to Afghanistan as a “neighboring country”: “They are also building schools for the Afghan children so that there is hope and opportunity in our neighboring country of Afghanistan,” she told several hundred supporters at a fund raising event in San Francisco. Afghanistan borders neither the United States nor Iraq.

Asian geography appears equally difficult for Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who has discussed an imaginary Iraq-Pakistan border. Perhaps they took Geography 101 at the Michael Jackson School located in Never-Never-land-California (an ideal or imaginary place).

Here is a real eye opener.

If you want to read something really interesting on McSame here is the link. It is rather long, but well worth the read, it is supposed to be published in Rolling Stone next month. You can find all 11,000 words of it here. Make Believe Maverick It might change your mind and it might not.

Middle of the week for a five-day wage slave in Oklahoma.

We now we see that money will buy you a fine dog, but only kindness will make him wag his tail. Lately I find it hard to be happy, upbeat, truly amusing. Early in the morning and I am fresh out of aphorisms to describe the pain I feel. I don’t have a short, pointed sentence to express a wise observation or a general truth, I just have this.

So, as the bantering and bickering continue, one fact remains constant, from a political standpoint, we are not getting much better than what we have had, geographically speaking they really seem to be lost as a goose.  It looks like four more years of the same.

And if that is the case, Lord help us!

000

Fish On Travel offers the private butler service at $150.00 per hour for up to four guests.  To make arrangements, visit the site at here or contact a local agent at 800-447-6999.

Exciting and fascinating tales of romance, danger and mystery are woven into the early history of the Florida Keys which were used as a base by sea-roving pirates as early as the 16th century.

From 1912 to 1936 a railroad linked the keys together like a necklace to the mainland.

When the railroad was washed away in a severe hurricane, the area was converted to a highway.

Key West is a mere 107 miles from South Beach on the road known officially as U. S. 1, a two-lane, toll-free concrete ribbon that is one of the most impressive and beautiful roads in this country with the seven mile Bahia Honda Bridge, one of 42 such structures along the route.

Fishing enthusiasts call the Keys an angler's paradise, with a huge variety of edible and game fish prevalent. All along the highway are fishing camps with guides and boats available for hire. Numerous launching ramps await those trailering their own craft. The landlubber can catch large fish directly from the many highway bridges.

Travelers to the Keys can also enjoy picnicking, sunbathing, boating and beachcombing for unusual shells and driftwood. Shell collectors spend interesting hours along the baysidecoastline and many collections of rare old bottles have been started with specimens from the ocean shore. Photographic possibilities are magnificent and numerous.

POINTS OF INTEREST:
East Martello Tower Museum Art
gallery and relics of Key West history; S. Roosevelt Blvd. near airport, Key West.

Audubon House — Restored home where John James Audubon headquartered while researching Keys wildlife; featuring beautiful antiques; 205 Whitehead St., Key West.

Aquarium—Old Mallory Square, fish and animals native to Key West waters.

John Pennekamp Coral Reef Underwater State Park Marine life, shipwrecks, reefs: Boat ramps, lunch counter, pool, shower and restroom facilities. Upper Key Largo.

Ernest Hemingway Home—Key West mansion of the renowned author at 907 Whitehead St.

Some have told me to “let it go”. Others have told me “it’s a lost cause”. Still others have accused me of being “crazy” and through it all, NO ONE has told me “keep it up”. What is this all about?

One month ago today a major hurricane hit the Louisiana coast near Grand Isle. Hurricane Gustov continued inland and hurricane force winds battered places as far away as Baton Rouge relentlessly. Meanwhile, down the road in New Orleans all the reporters from all the major news outlets were focused on watching a few waves overtop a few levees. With every ounce of their being they were hoping to see the levees break and their cameras provide live footage of the greatest flood of all time.

All the willing of all the media could not force the levees to break. After a day of anticipation, they were bitterly disappointed that there was no huge story coming out of New Orleans. With heavy heart they trudged to either St. Paul to cover the Republican convention they never wanted to attend, or to South Carolina on the off chance Tropical Storm Hanna might turn into a real newsworthy storm.

While Hanna was huffing and puffing and not really doing much of anything, Hurricane Ike was ripping the Bahamas and then Cuba apart like an angry monster let loose on the city. Of course no reporters are allowed in Cuba and no one in their right mind would have stayed in the Bahamas. Thus, the real story of Ike was neglected, just as the real story of Gustov.

For days, the headlines regarding Ike were directed towards Florida. Where and how this became the focus of attention is baffling. Ike was never headed that way. Still, whenever the folks on Key West are told to evacuate, that becomes the almighty big story of any storm. Why do people live there anyway?

Consider these facts. In the twelve days between Hurricane Gustov and Hurricane Ike, there was basically NO media coverage of Gustov’s damage except in the immediate New Orleans/Baton Rouge areas. Even the television outlets in coastal Mississippi did not cover the story. There were far bigger fish to fry than spending resources on covering a little ole storm that hit a section of Louisiana no one in the United States knows or cares about.

FEMA, the Red Cross, Salvation Army and a few other charities were on the scene providing a little help; but the response after Gustov was minimal and a disgrace to the heart of disaster relief in this country. If we are going to selectively pick and choose who receives aid, media coverage and prayers; our country has slid down the slope to extinction.

As Ike grew into the sprawling monster he became, of course every news outlet rushed crews to Galveston and Houston in anticipation of a huge story. Dreams of Katrina like footage flooded the minds of reporters looking for the story that would catapult them to the “big time”. As dire warnings were issued for those refusing to evacuate circulated, the army of reporters spread out to find safe areas to weather the storm at, yet be close enough to provide graphic shots of the impending carnage.

Images of reporters being swept off their feet in the rising storm surge made the rounds on the internet along with pictures of fools hanging sideways on light poles as the rising winds came ashore. Stupid interviews with people bragging about not evacuating but staying in their beachfront houses drinking beer and partying were still filling television screens the afternoon before the storm hit.

When the media went to bed that Friday night Ike came ashore, they were like children on Christmas Eve. Surely the next morning would provide days of coverage of a totally wiped out Galveston and a severely crippled Houston. Awards and high ratings danced through their heads as they endured a night of wind and storms.

But, alas, once again the weather gods did not cooperate. With bitter disappointment these loyal foot soldiers of the media giants went out to battle on Saturday only to find huge sections of Galveston still standing and worse yet, Houston was barely touched. With clenched fists they cursed the weather gods for not sending the 20 foot storm surge that would have leveled Galveston and crippled the oil and gas industries in Houston for years. Instead, all they got was a little category 2 hurricane with a storm surge that only destroyed places too far to film and that no one cared about.

As a result of Ike not killing 100,000 people, totally destroying the city of Galveston or flooding half of Houston; the media stayed long enough to give a few reports for a few days and then started the mass exodus to find the next big story that America craved to see. Within a week to ten days after Ike, most of the national media were long gone and by two weeks after the storm, there were no longer ANY stories about Ike, Galveston, Houston, the Texas coast or Louisiana.

What have we come to in this country? Do we simply cast off those who suffer the loss of their homes, jobs and families simply because the carnage was not great enough to warrant continued coverage? The media stayed in New Orleans and to a lesser degree the Mississippi coast for months after Katrina. Through their constant coverage of the devastation came the impetus for America to give of their goods, money and time to help those in need.

Since the media has chosen to forsake those affected by Gustov and Ike, there is but a trickle of help heading their way. The response by America to these hurricanes has been tepid at best and non-existent most of the time. America has quickly forgotten about Ike because of the soap opera playing out in Washington over the “bail out”. While debate continues on giving 700 billion to bail out banks, an obscure bill was passed giving a few billion dollars to help those affected by Gustov and Ike.

I know times are tough and everyone is uptight about money, but that does not give an excuse to forget about those who have lost everything and are only starting on the long journey to normalcy. Even the incredible story out of Atlanta regarding gasoline shortages has only in the past two days made the headlines (near the bottom). Either America does not care anymore about helping her fellow citizens in time of need or they do not know what the need is due to the arrogance and ratings driven media who have shirked their duty by failing to cover Gustov and stick with the Ike stories. Shame on you.

LeaveBooker's major update to support US companies that have multiple allowances is now in UAT and is undergoing testing.  It's taken longer than I imagined, but believe me it is a significant update and affected every part of the system.

Add to the actual work that we have active users whose data needs migrating.  I'm hoping we'll have most of the testing done this time next week, but of course we'll play it by ear and I'll keep you posted.

October 4th is the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. As I've said before, St. Francis is probably the saint who is closest to my heart. I am a real animal-lover. I have four cats and have always had animals in my life from the time I was a tot.

First there was Smokey, a little black fur ball who had a habit of finding his way into the back of our black and white television set. I guess it was nice and warm in there next to the tube.

Then there was Tammy - a stray who followed me home and who I insisted on giving dishes of milk on the back porch. No wonder she stayed.

Then there was Misty. I can't remember where she came from, but she was a lovely cat, until the neighbourhood toms started making overtures and leaving their pungent odours behind. I still remember the car pulling out of the driveway with Misty in the back. Perhaps it was just my child's imagination that saw her looking wistfully out the back window and crying for me.

Interspersed with cats were a few of your typical pets - goldfish, a turtle named Sam, a trio of gerbils: Caesar, Beezer and Sneezer - who met untimely ends, one on his little wire wheel, one at the hands of a student and an unwieldy brick, and one of loneliness. So sad. We also had a pair of budgie-birds aptly named after Saints Peter and Paul(ine). A caged-jaunt outdoors proved too much for them and they beat the door down and flew away.

Then there was Fourchu - named after a little seaside town in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. He was a gorgeous silver tabby, but he fell victim to the common complaint that male cats suffer - urinary tract problems.

Following a trip to the Florida Keys in 1973, we obtained a tabby-and- white and called him Atocha, after the replica of the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Atocha, docked in Key West. Poor "Toche" was cruelly whacked by some unknown assailant and died a few days later because of internal injuries. He did have 8 good years and we loved him very much.

One of our favourite memories of him was when he got at a dish of butter on the kitchen table. He was quite satisfied with himself initially, but then by the look on his face and his disinclination to move a muscle, we determined that the butter was a bit rich for him. Oh, and then there was the time he took a SPAM loaf from a plate and tore off down the hall with it.

Atocha was a great, lovable cat and he was the only cat we ever took to church. On the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, we put him in a carrier and carted him off to be blessed with all the other parishioners' pets. Our church was named after the good saint himself, and my grade school was also St. Francis of Assisi Elementary. I have always loved him for the love of animals that we share. He guards over the backyard behind the house where my husband and I currently reside.

I had a few more cats while I lived at home: Lynx, was a lovely brown tabby I rescued from the Humane Society and Djanka was a black angora I gifted to a friend since she had lost her own cat. Sadly, her parents wouldn't let her keep him, so he ended up as a pal for Lynx.

As I said earlier, my husband and I now have four felines: Gilbert, Blanche, Daisy and Red. All are rescues of a sort and all are indoor cats, so a trip to the church would prove exceedingly traumatic. We will have to content ourselves with saying The Prayer of St. Francis or singing "All Creatures of Our God and King", (attributed to Francis as well). I'm sure the cats (along with the creatures outside) won't have any problem "lifting up their voices and singing" in praise on this day.

In memory of all those pets who have brought me joy and in tribute to all the animals in nature who do so every day by the grace of God, I wish you all a wonderful feast of St. Francis of Assisi!

Here's a poem I wrote to always remember the wonderful world outside my kitchen window:

Seasons of Grace

Behold! the cozy, urban yard, behind our Forties house,
Wherein St. Francis stands his guard for all from hawk to mouse.
Each Spring the robins ritually, return to build their nests;
Come April, we anticipate a gath’ring of new guests:

Bluejay’s squeaky clothesline crow precedes him, hale and hearty;
Starling troops march in a row - a daybreak searching-party.
Spitfires, gold, ride waves of air; capped chickadee-dees call.
View from kitchen window fair, in Summer, does enthrall.

Jaunty sparrow, white of crown; some mallards pay a call;
Shafted flicker, thrasher, brown, crowned kinglet – welcome all.
Tourists we have seldom seen make pit-stops and we host--
Autumn days have often been astounding in the most.

But I delight in Winter weeks, whence come the falls of snow,
Blanketing the yard with peaks, flecked with the slate junco;
Quick, squat squirrels dash and dine on peanuts that we cast,
Upon the porch enclosed by pine, and cedars from the past.

Seasons in the garden space the pulse of life, we learn;
Nature with her gifts doth grace-- so nurture we, in turn.

Beatasum © 2007

Single Travel International is offering passage on the Smooth Jazz Charter Cruise, which will feature jazz musicians such as Norman Brown, Nick Colionne, Boney James, Acoustic Alchemy and more.

 The Caribbean cruise is on the Celebrity Century. Included are exclusive singles events and access to jazz performers. The cruise departs Miami and visits Key West, Nassau and Coco Cay for a private beach party. There will be afternoon and evening performances every sailing day.

Fares start at $1,849, including gratuities, all taxes, government fees and fuel charges. The Smooth Jazz Cruise host, Norman Brown, will introduce live jazz performances by Nick Colionne, Boney James, Mindi Abair, Larry Carlton, Heather Headley, Acoustic Alchemy, Greg Adams, Marlon Meadows, Steve Cole, Shilts, Steve Oliver, Chieli Minnuci, Michael Lington, Alan Hewitt and Althea Rene. All musicians will perform their show at least twice during the cruise.

 Also planned are autograph and interview sessions, as well as late-night jam sessions. Exclusive Singles Travel International amenities include a $50 shipboard credit, welcome aboard party with open bar, breakfast and happy hour each day, singles seating for dinner, and farewell party. Singles Travel International invites single guests to a Super Bowl party on Feb. 1.

Are you new to Cruising?

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The Hemingways (Ernest and his first wife, Pauline) heard about Key West from Ernest’s friend John Dos Passos, and the two stopped at the tiny Florida island on their way back from Paris. They soon decided that life in remote Key West was like living in a foreign country while still perched on the southernmost tip of America. Hemingway loved it. "It’s the best place I’ve ever been anytime, anywhere, flowers, tamarind trees, guava trees, coconut palms...Got tight last night on absinthe and did knife tricks." After renting an apartment and a house for a couple of years the Hemingways bought a large house at 907 Whitehead Street with $12,500 of help from Pauline’s wealthy Uncle Gus.

This is the wall surrounding the home.

The swimming pool.

One of the many cats on the property sleeping by the pool.

Hemingway ended up bringing this urinal home (ripped from the wall) after a drunken night out. It was turned into a water fountain.

A view of the house taken from the garden.

Some of the artwork inside the house.

The guest bathroom.

The master bedroom where Hemingway slept.

A cat in the master bathroom.

The master bathroom itself.

A view of the upper balcony that wrapped all of the way around the house.

The stairway to the second floor.

Hemingway art on the wall.

A Picasso cat given to Hemingway by the man himself.

This is the cupboard in the bedroom the Picasso cat used to rest on.

Hemingway used this lighthouse (easily seen from the home) as a guide to get home when he was drunk.

All of the cats on the property descend from an original cat Hemingway owned that had six toes. As a consequence, many of the cats today have six toes as well.

Hemingway's writing room.

On the morning of July 2, 1961 Hemingway rose early in his Idaho home, as he had his entire adult life, selected a shotgun from a closet in the basement, went upstairs to a spot near the entrance-way of the house and shot himself in the head.

Last week, they profiled houses in Key West, Florida; Fruitland, Utah; and Romansville, Pennsylvania. The Key West property in the historic district, blocks from the ferry dock, Duval Street and surrounded by lush foliage and a pool was most expensive at $807.63/ square foot. The Utah property was least expensive at $150.00/ square foot. The six building compound is 75 miles from Park City, and near the Strawberry River. I don’t know which one I would want more. I’ve been to both cities, and they are equally charming and interesting. However, because I don’t have a million dollars, I guess I don’t really need to decide.

What You can Get from Queensboro for $1 Million*

If you had $1 million to spend at Queensboro, you could get a LOT of stuff.

You could get 66,889.63 of one of our most popular polo shirts, our style 1430, the Two-Ply Pima Jersey Classic Polo. If you wanted to spend $1 million with us, we’d throw in an entire shirt to cover the .63.

If you and forty thousand and eighty of your closest friends wanted to hop a plane to Hawaii for a spa weekend, and you all wanted matching custom-embroidered spa wraps, you would be covered with your $1 million.

For $1 million, you could make 57,142 of your country club members very happy by giving them each a custom-embroidered Military-Strength Large Canvas Tote.

You could give every little league baseball player in approximately three states a Queensboro Brushed Twill Cap (or at least 100,502 of them).

*Product totals do not include shipping!

So, if your next lottery ticket is a winner, and you need ways to unload your haul, just call us. We would be happy to help you out.

Remember Dawn & Bob from last month? Well I've finally gotten around to posting their day after session! They were soooo tired from the day before (who wouldnt be! im just the photographer and I was exhausted!!)...but they were awesome sports, and we had some fun canoodling around the Casa Marina Resort where they were staying...as well as grabbing some shots by the big tree! (love that big tree....). Thanks for your patience guys and hope you love these!

These are my favorite images from the day...

First shot was taken by Ben and I LOVE it. To me, it speaks volumes about how a bride and groom feel after the wedding day....serene. The stress is over and the adventure begins:)

My favorite from the session....Of course I didn't mean to get all of their belongings in the picture, but i love how it looks with them there....real life!

Love this one too! Sort-of looks like they're walking on water...doesn't it?

]]> http://gammazon.wordpress.com/?p=148 Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:28:23 +0000 gammazon http://gammazon.wordpress.com/2008/09/14/weddings-and-hurricanes-oh-my/ [/caption]

Well, the hitching went well.  We probably spent a whole day (cumulatively) watching hurricanes on the weather channel.  We arrived in Key West on Sunday to tropical storm Gustav.  It was over by Sunday afternoon and everything was smooth sailing from there.  There was an overwhelming sense of danger for the whole trip.  Ike and Hannah were swirling around and we had our eyes on them the whole trip.  There was a mandatory evacuation of Key West for all tourists starting at 10 am Saturday.  We were already set to leave so it didn't effect us.

You can view all of my wedding pics by going to www.weddingstogokeywest.com then click on "Wedding Albums", we were married Sept 4 (Chris and Nikki).  Sorry, I tried to post multiple links but they wouldn't work...  It has all the pics, the good and the bad.  Even the wedding kiss where I look like I'm trying to eat Chris...

A lot may be said about home prices in Florida, but when Coldwell Banker decided to compare the state with the rest of the nation, Florida is pretty much in the middle of the pack.

The most affordable homes in Florida are located in Ormond Beach at $201,233, while the most expensive homes can be found in Key West, where an average price is $818,239.

Florida homes not so expensive compared to western states - Tampa Bay Business Journal:.

My wife & I took a long-awaited trip to Key West (Aug 29-31).  Just happen to be the weekend that one of Florida`s many hurricanes decided to rip through the carribean. We certainly didn`t let a little rain & wind stop us from having fun though. We did all the touristy things that we could do considering the weather. Unfortunately, none of the snorkeling trips were going out since the seas were rough but land seemed to offer plenty of entertainment.

Kelly & I are not much into the drinking scene anymore, but when you are in the Keys and its downpouring every 30 minutes, you find yourself running for shelter and will most likely hit one of the many bars along Duval street. Just about all of them were packed at one time or another, with plenty of live music to keep your spirits up.

The biggest down side , however, was the lack of sun. If you`ve ever been to the Florida Keys then you have probably been on one of the "sunset cruises" or just hung out along the pier on the west coast to watch the sun go down. Its a spectacular sight in deed!...although that weekend there wasn`t much of a sunset since the clouds invaded and literally swallowed it up (although, the sun did manage to show up on the day we were driving back home...).

The most interesting thing we discovered though, was the amount of eastern european tourists. We ran into a very nice German couple who took their first trip to the US, and they decided to start it off in Key West.  Wow, what a weekend to arrive for the first time!  Funny enough though, they were telling us that in Germany the media tends to put a very dramatic spin on storms down here in Florida. They basically make it seem like there has been a nuclear holocaust and the state is going to tear off the panhandle and float out into the Atlantic. Guess it serves us right for portraying Germans as enemies in every american-made war movie. And Russians, and Japanese, and...

Check out the map if you are interested in the layout of Key West.  I`ve placed a red dot indicating where we had stayed. It was a great little BnB called The Angelina Guesthouse(corner of Thomas & Angelina). There is a story behind this historic building, as most of the buildings in the Keys have.  The long and short of it is, used to be a 1920s bordello & gambling establishment, but was converted into a BnB years ago. Each room is named after a  "professional woman" who accommodated the room in those days...but don`t worry, they won`t be coming back to wreak havoc or ask for money upfront.

In anycase, the whole trip was awesome considering the stormy weather,gusts of wind, flooding down near the "southernmost point" due to surges coming up over the sea wall, and lack of sun.  We are definitely planning on a future trip with plenty of sun...I hope...

Aviso 1                4PM CTM                  8 Sep 2008

A LAS 12 PM CTM, EL HURACAN IKE ESTABA LOCALIZADO A 130 KM AL OESTE DE CAMAGUEY CUBA Y COMO A 405 KM AL ESTE SURESTE DE HABANA CUBA.

IKE SE MUEVE HACIA EL OESTE A CERCA DE 22 KM/HR PERO SE ESPERA UN GIRO HACIA EL OESTE-NOROESTE MAS TARDE HOY. EN ESTA TRAYECTORIA EL CENTRO DEL HURACAN IKE SE MOVERA A LO LARGO O JUSTO AL SUR DE LA COSTA SURE DE CUBA CENTRAL HOY Y SE MOVERA SOBRE EL OESTE DE CUBA EL MARTES PARA LUEGO CONTINUAR SU TRAYECTORIA HACIA EL SURESTE DEL GOLFO DE MEXICO EL MARTES EN LA NOCHE.

LOS VIENTOS MAXIMOS SOSTENIDOS ESTAN EN CERCA DE 160 KM/HR CON RAFAGAS MAS FUERTES. IKE ES UN HURACAN DE CATEGORIA DOS EN LA ESCALA DE HURACANES SAFFIR-SIMPSON. UN AVION DE RECONOCIMIENTO PROVEERA UN MEJOR ESTIMADO DE LA INTENSIDAD DE IKE ESTA TARDE. SE ESPERA ALGUN FORTALECIMIENTO EN LOS PROXIMOS DIAS MIETRAS EL SISTEMA ESTE SOBRE AGUA.

LOS VIENTOS CON FUERZA DE HURACAN SE EXTIENDEN HACIA AFUERA HASTA 95 KM DEL CENTRO Y LOS VIENTOS CON FUERZA DE TORMENTA TROPICAL SE EXTIENDEN HACIA AFUERA HASTA 325 KM. JUCARO EN LA COSTA SUR DE CUBA CENTRAL REPORTO RECIENTEMENTE UNA RAFAGA DE 138 KM/HR.
LA PRESION CENTRAL MINIMA ESTIMADA ES DE 965 MB.

SE ESPERAN INUNDACIONES POR MAREJADA CICLONICA DE 9-12 PIES SOBRE LOS NIVELES NORMALES DE LA MAREA JUNTO CON OLAS ROMPIENTES PELIGROSAS EN AREAS DE CORRIENTE DE VIENTOS HACIA TIERRA AL ESTE DE IKE A LO LARGO DE LA COSTA SUR DE CUBA. ES POSIBLE QUE SE DESARROLLEN INUNDACIONES POR MAREJADA CICLONICA DE 1-3 PIES EN LOS CAYOS DE LA FLORIDA.

Today looks better for us so far, hurricane Ike is way south of here and hopefully he will stay that way, EXCEPT, he is headed toward where my brother and his family live and have lived for 25 years, Key West.
I don't want it to go there either as they are just enjoying their house they had to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina flooded it with 2 feet of water. You don't hear much about what Katrina did to the Keys, but it was very bad down there too. Though their new house is built up nine feet,  the big worry would be the wind.
They love Key West, my sister-in-law and neice will get out of the way of the storm, but not my salty dog little brother. He will stay and hunker down, (or up in his case) and try and weather it out. I am hoping it will have down graded at that point to a Cat. 0ne from passing over Cuba. We have about 36 hours to see what will happen.
The other pictures were my happy wake up flying things this morning. The cranes were happily sitting down over looking the lakes, the white heron was a wonderful unexpected surprise and so many butterflies
are all over. Everyone has told me that they have lots of variaties coming through their yards.
The water level is up which is good because in another 6 weeks that will be about the topper for the winter months. At least so far we have a decent level in comparison to last year at this time. These tropical systems are certainly helping us recover from drought, but some places around here are still too wet. Homes still underwater. Let's hope that the wings for Sunday include a fast moving Ike that weakens and does not do too much more damage to the people and property it decides to land upon. I feel fortunate that the hurricane shutters can stay in the garage and we can look out at the bright sunshine and breathe a sigh of relief, at least I hope this thing does not come back to bite us....

Cuban authorities scrambled to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people in the eastern and central coastal areas using buses, trucks and whatever other transportation was available as Ike bore down as a fierce Category 4 hurricane that could flood the shore with 18 feet of water.

As Ike battered Britain's Turks and Caicos Islands and the southern Bahamas, residents of the Florida Keys, a 110-mile (177-km) island chain connected by bridges with only one road out, were told to evacuate as a precaution.

When it emerges from Cuba, Ike could follow a path similar to that of last week's Hurricane Gustav toward Louisiana and Texas. That would be a threat to New Orleans, the city swamped by Katrina three years ago, and the Gulf energy rigs, which account for a quarter of U.S. oil and 15 percent of natural gas output.

MOVING TO HIGHER GROUND

Thousands of tourists staying at Cuba's prime resorts along the northern coast from Guardalavaca in eastern Holguin to Varadero in the west were being taken inland or to safe locations at resorts as hotels were boarded up.

Ranchers herded cattle in the prime grazing areas of eastern Las Tunas and Camaguey to higher ground, while port workers struggled to move cargo inland.

"We are at a disadvantage because there are no hills and mountains to break the wind," farm worker Artemio Madonadoemos said from the flatlands of Las Tunas.

"If the storm comes through here the damage will be enormous," he said before closing up his humble dwelling and heading for his brother's home in the city of Las Tunas.

Ike was set to come ashore in Holguin, home of the nickel industry, Cuba's most important export, then move westward over the heart of the sugar industry. Holguin's mines and three processing plants in the mountains were shut down.

Ike was forecast to batter the islands in its path with flooding up to 18 feet above normal tides and to rain new misery on Haiti, where hundreds of people died in floods and mudslides caused by three storms in the past month.

By 11 a.m. EDT, Ike was sweeping through the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British territory of about 22,000 people, and the sparsely populated southern Bahamas.

The center of the storm was located 15 miles west-southwest of Great Inagua Island and was moving west at 13 mph (21 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

'TOO CLOSE'

A steady stream of traffic moved along the Overseas Highway in the Florida Keys as an evacuation of residents began, even though Ike was expected to pass at least 100 miles to the south.

"It's just too close to not react to it," Monroe County administrator Roman Gastesi said.

But many residents looked at the storm with typical nonchalance in laid-back Key West. Pete Cooper and his wife, Diane, were bar-hopping along the waterfront on Saturday.

"We've prepared our house and feel safe," said Pete Cooper. "As long as it's not a Cat-4, we are staying."

The densely populated Florida southeast coast from Miami to West Palm Beach, home to some 5 million people and billions of dollars of pricey real estate, appeared less likely to be hit.

Ike was forecast to curve into the Gulf in the wake of Gustav, which slammed ashore west of New Orleans, sparing the city traumatized by Katrina in 2005.

Katrina killed 1,500 people and caused about $80 billion damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Its most likely track had it headed for the Texas-Louisiana border. But long-range forecasts have a large margin of error and a slight deviation could take it toward New Orleans.

Forecasters expected Ike to weaken to a Category 1 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson intensity scale over Cuba but to regain Category 3 strength as it nears the U.S. Gulf coast.

Oil companies had begun returning workers to the offshore platforms that were evacuated before Gustav hit. But one company, Shell Oil Co., said on Saturday it had stopped returning workers in case new evacuations were needed.

As of Saturday, more than 90 percent of Gulf oil production and nearly 80 percent of natural gas was still shut down, according to the U.S. Minerals Management Service.

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN036933920080907?sp=true

Hurricane Ike is a Cat-4 with winds of 145 mph.

Trollio’s uncle owned the Madame’s Organ. Trollio worked there nights, sometimes, tending bar. He was no good at it. He drank more than he doled out, so his uncle retired him from the business of serving and instead volunteered him into the art of late-night cleaning. We took a table in the back by the toilets. There was no one there. It was the middle of the day. Frankie came by with our drinks and we told him to start a tab.
“You gonna pay this time?” he said, looking at Trollio.
Trollio just lit a cigarette and smiled. Frankie cursed and walked back behind the bar.

“I need to work,” Scotty said. "I really need to work." He looked down into his glass for some kind of answer. “I can’t afford a goddamn cup of coffee anymore.”
Trollio made that sucking sound through his teeth and shook his head.
“Who the hell can.”
“The kids are starting to ask questions,” Scotty said.
“Like?”
“Why is Daddy home all the time, that kind of shit.”
“We can’t help it if these snakes keep cutting our shifts,” I said.
“Then I need to find something else.”
“Find what?” Trollio said. “We don’t know how to do anything else.”
“I don’t know.”
“We’re cursed with this.”
Scotty tilted the glass and drained a mouthful. Frankie gave us a look from the bar, and shook his head.
“I’m telling Bo,” he yelled towards our table.
“I’m telling Bo,” Trollio mocked him. Then he made that sucking sound again.
“It’s bullshit,” Frankie said. “It’s complete bullshit what you get away with.”
“It’s called nepotism,” Trollio said and laughed. Just then he sounded like Jack Nicholson.

Before he came to us, Scotty had a small farm in Illinois. Reagan and his trickle down economics theory busted him wide-open, back in the mid-80s. He lived in Lubbock for a while and tried to get a job at Texas Tech as an adjunct, then moved out to the east coast and tried to get into local politics, but he was an honest man from the Midwest, so he got crushed. He got married, started a family, and took on a mortgage for a three-two-two-and-a-half bath townhouse in Lorton. He clocked in a few years at the Post Office as a substitute carrier, but he was never hired full time. Marvin Runyon slashed the temps and raised the postage rates. And that was it for Scotty.

“I’m thinking of moving out West,” Trollio said. He held his cigarette between the thumb and index finger, and when he smoked, he liked to slowly crush the filter so by the time he was done, the butt looked like it had been mauled by a pit bull.
“Why,” I said. “Where?”
“I don’t know. Maybe Denver.”
“Why?”
“It’s closer to California.”
“The hell you want to go back for?”
“I don’t want to go back,” Trollio said. “I just wanna be close.”

Trollio lived in L.A. for a few years. He wrote scripts. But during the day he wrapped cables and fetched coffee for movie industry people on film sets. One day he walked in on his wife and some zit-faced scriptwriter in bed together.

“I didn’t blow or anything. I just walked over to the bathroom, got my cologne, and dumped it all over her clothes. All over. I even put it in her shoes. Inside, I mean. This way, she’d always remember me. They were fuckin’ Manolos, too. The shoes were.”

That’s the way he tells it.

“Why the hell would you want to be closer,” Scotty said and wiped his runny nose with his napkin. When he said that, he looked outside at the rain whipping the window.
“I don’t know,” Trollio said. “She kept the dog.”
“She did?”
“Yeh. It was a Border Collie.”
“What’s that?” I said. I didn’t know anything about dogs.
“Looks like a mini-Lassie,” Scotty said.
“Smart as hell, too,” Trollio said. “We’d go out into the desert together…”
He trailed off thinking.
“Anyway,” he came back, “I’d maybe like to get her back.”
“Your wife?”
“No, the dog.”
We laughed. Frankie was bent over behind the bar filling ice.
“Hey slick,” Trollio yelled, “your hairy crack is making us gag here.”
Frankie flashed a finger without looking. We laughed and finished our drinks.
“The divorce came through today,” Trollio said.
“Oh yeh?”
“That’s what we’re celebrating.”
“Are we celebrating?” I said.
“Sure.”
Scotty was gone now. He was thinking about the kids. Trollio was trying to convince himself this was a good day. I waited.
“Anyway, I’m only thinking about it,” Trollio came back.
“The dog?”
“No, Denver. Well, the dog too. I don’t know, I’m just thinking.”
"You guys look like you just lost a war," Frankie said. He wiped down the bar. "Bunch of saps, the lot o' you."

After we finished our drinks we sat there, at the table by the toilets, knowing Frankie wasn’t going to pour another round for us, and knowing we probably wouldn’t have to go back for the other shift. We'd be light in the paychecks again this week. Scotty was off to his family, or his farm in Illinois, Trollio was mapping out a life at the foot of the Rockies, and I was thinking of running away down to Key West for good this time. I didn’t know if there’d be any work down there, but the sunset at Mallory Square, the little drinking joints on Whitehead Street, and the weather, were all starting to work on me.

I tried to explain that to my dad... he did not follow as well as i thought he would.

So i could tell you about my trip to key west but i would just be very very sad thinking about all the fun i had. so... highlights...

1. We got kicked out of a pet store... crazy old woman

2. I was interviewed on the 11 o'clock news by a pretty hot reporter (not a girls gone wild thing, like real news) however I was prettttty drunk

3. We made cool local friends, woohoo

4. We made non-local friends that were obsessed with us, creepy

5. I did not pay for one single drink. now that's success.

6. We only had one day of Hurricaning weather (thank you Gustav) and it was really cool, I thoroughly enjoyed the wind and rain and thats what I told the reporter. (you can only imagine a drunk skantily clad girl going "who CARES if its raining!?!? ITS KEY WEST!!" oh jeez thank God it was local... all the way to miami... shit

7. I got to hold a huge snake (think Britney Spears) AND 3 parrots and an iguana at the same time.

8. We rode bikes everywhere!

9. When I got home (sad)  I went to a Jimmy Buffett concert that night, PERFECT. It was awesome!!

So there ya go. I am now looking for jobs in Key West. If i sell my car I'll have a really good amount of money for a down payment on a house and a scooter haha and a bike too. Damn I love my car though. God I hate work.

"You must do a super-eloquent blog entry about Key West. Hemingway lived there so you have big shoes to fill! Do it quickly before a) you forget what it was like, or b) your readers tire of waiting and go somewhere else."

"OK"

[two days later]

"Huh! Can't be bothered to do that entry now. Why should I do what HE says?"

...and so it goes on. As every day passed and it wasn't done I was remonstrating with myself and at the same time defying myself. All a bit tiresome but there you go.

Now that I've finally gotten around to it I still can't really be bothered writing sparkling descriptive prose. Instead my instinct is to just let the photos speak for themselves. I know that's a cop-out but if I did try to write about it now, at this late stage, it would be all crap anyway. What I need to learn to do is write down my thoughts on something as they occur, then copy them to the blog later. Hence my recent purchase of... well, let's leave that story for another time.

Hope you enjoy the photos.

In my recent post – The Problem With Men - I proposed an unapologetic opinion of why we men seem to demonstrate such problematical traits for many of our wives, girlfriends and female associates.  And while my proposition was delivered tongue planted firmly in cheek, the proposition is valid, evolutionarily speaking.

My main point in that post was that, regardless of how much social evolving we’ve had over the past 3 - 4 generations, our “frontier nature” will work it’s way to the surface in each of us.  And more importantly, the older we get the more persistent and romanticized that nature will become in our minds.  To the point where we can’t ignore it like our younger selves did.  After all, the closer you get to the end than the beginning of the journey, the more you start to wonder what the heck the journey is really all about.  You can’t help but ask yourself if the path you’ve taken was worth it.  You can’t help but wonder if maybe you gave up too much of that restless curiosity along the way.   

Mortality is the great equalizer, and the bigger it becomes in the windshield of life the more clearly we see the consequences of our commitments and accumulations.  It’s a ripe garden for the longings of a more adventurous and self-reliant perspective to sprout.  It’s a ripe time for our aging minds and bodies to reach back to our youthful memories and recall what it was like to be unencumbered by the weight of all those hustlers and their schemes.  To still believe in our dreams.  And what do you think shows up in that garden?  Why, the pioneer in us, of course.  Or the Pirate.

While most of our frontier brethren battled the unknown on dry land, some took to the seas and did battle with Mother Nature on a completely different stage.  While sailing for God and King, historical legends like Christopher Columbus, Magellan, Francis Bacon (and so many others) challenged myth and reality alike as they scattered across the globe aboard good ships in search of the sailor’s version of a North West Passage.  Inevitably, like many of their landlocked brothers (Billy the Kid, Wild Bill Hickock, Doc Holliday, etc.) some of those rascals just couldn’t bring themselves to do what others thought they should and broke from the pack   And thus, in the 1600’s, a new breed of adventurer emerged in the form of Pirates.  Sailing not for God and country, but sailing for the Jolly Roger, this hardy and raucous breed undertook a lawless life-style of plunder and pillaging that came to be known as “The Sweet Trade”.   

It may come as troubling news, but for some of us, that Pirate-nature boils to the surface also.  Enter Ferquan The Pirate!  Aaaaarrrgghhh!!!!  Now, I’m not suggesting that my fellow aging boomers should spit on our hands, hoist the black flag and start slitting throats.  At least not literally.  But, avast! It is time to look squarely into the eyes of Jack Kletch (the hangman) and dust off that bold sense of fun and daring that has been slumbering inside us for lo these years.  Use it or lose!  I’m all for using it while I still can. 

That being the case, there are a few things about this pirate nature worth noting.  True pirates already know this about themselves, but some of them may have forgotten, or may think there’s something wrong with them.  Sack that bilge!!

Pirate Illuminations

1. It’s not true that Pirates don’t put down roots.  But a pirate doesn’t have the same kind of roots as landlubbers.  A Pirate’s roots grow into the deck of the ship, not a piece of land.  Wherever the ships goes, that’s home.  It seems to landlubbers that a pirate is a wayward soul, destined to never find that home port.  But that’s the wrong perspective.  You see, what we really crave is freedom from the shackles and yokes of conventionality.  And the reality of it all is that you can’t have that freedom if you stay in port.  It only comes from riding 80 feet of waterline on the outside.
2. It’s a pirate’s job to ask you something and then not take your advice.  We’re supposed to listen, but that doesn’t mean we’re supposed to do anything about it.
3. Pirates don’t do relationships very well. It’s not because we’re not capable, it’s because we’re just not inclined to change the way we do things.  Sooner or later this is going to rub people (i.e. “woman-folks”) the wrong way, and when it does, those people are going to want to “fix” the problem.  Every woman loves the romance and excitement of the pirate-esque man, but in time the very things that were so appealing will become a problem.  There is only one “soul-mate” in a pirate’s life, and that’s their ship.  (Keep in mind, for us modern-day pirates, “ship” can mean whatever it is that calls to your soul and hardens your … uh, resolve.
4. Pirates are honorable, almost to a fault.  They don’t always honor the same things that landlubbers honor, and that can make it look like they don’t care or are selfish.  But it’s all a matter of perspective.  Morality, justice, fun and love look different from the deck of a ship (whatever a pirate’s ship might be).
5. Pirates don’t seek the treasure for the treasure itself.  Not really.  Oh sure, we crave the find and will endure most any hardship to reach it.  But even when we do, we will get bored with it all soon enough and set our sails to the next one, and the one after that.
6. Pirates don’t do apologies very well, either giving or receiving.

Without sounding like a whiner or a bitch, it bears noting that virtually NOTHING in life is set up to make this journey easy on you.  Even people who are entertained and delighted by the courage it takes to raise your own flag, will soon enough tire of the process, especially if it impacts their world.  Some of us are lucky enough to find the buried treasure with fair winds at their back, but for most of us, it’s rough seas and strong headwinds that will be our travel partners.  But The Sweet Trade is worth it.

Before you set out on the journey, make sure you get a copy of The Pirate Code. 

Alrighty, then.  Now you know what your dealin’ with!