Current Events

I have been performing veterinarian/zookeeper duty for almost two weeks, but the work has diminished slightly as Lenny the Cat appears to be recovering from a bout with hairballs. We were worried about the little feline because he was completely off his food and hiding away to rest. I took him to the vet about 8 days ago, and OMG, it was more expensive than a checkup for a human! Plain old amoxicillin was $28 for one ounce ... about 14 times the price for same thing humans get. I hope there isn’t a next time, but I will be better prepared if it happens. This morning the old Lenny is back…harassing Delilah, fighting Angel the Bichon, and chasing Logan down the hall. And, of course, climbing the screen on the lanai! But we are so happy he’s getting well.

I found a perfect coconut Sunday! I was too tired to open it when we got home, so I’m waiting until this weekend and will report on the taste. I found a good one in the Keys, but it got cracked somehow and spoiled before I got to test it.

The Bus Stop Show

If you visit Key West, and some one recommends public transportation, be aware that there is no “schedule.” Both of the guidebooks we read recommended the city bus system as the most economical transportation, which would provide the opportunity to see places in the city we would like to explore, and eliminate the need to find parking - a perpetual complication in Key West. On Saturday evening, we arrived in time for the famous sunset at Mallory Square, and were told by a citizen that the bus stop was just down the street, and the bus would show up when the driver got around to it. We have decided it is a “phantom” system because we never saw a city bus during the three days we were there!

Disclaimer: This experience is recounted from the perspective of two tourists who lost themselves in a not-so-good neighborhood and decided to make the best of it. It is not meant to treat unsympathetically those with addictions or mental afflictions.

We walked to the bus stop at 6:30 and recognized immediately that we were going to have free entertainment similar to Bill Cosby’s description of the “free show on the subway.” Standing about twenty feet away from the pavilion, a Haitian woman seemed to be arguing with someone on a cell phone. Two men who apparently shared a fear of soap and water were sitting on the bench, their gestures defining an argument in a creole of Spanish, English and cheap whiskey. A thin woman who may have been in her mid-thirties, with long, stringy, brownish hair, freckles, and missing her front teeth was also on the bench, waving her arms and proclaiming, “Nobody gonna disrespeck me!”

My first thought was, Is this a good idea? Second thought: I’m glad Jesse is with me! We stood some distance away from the bus stop shelter, but still within earshot of the unintelligible discussion. Jesse realized that we didn’t have change for the bus fare, so he tried to get change at the deli across the street. One of the men said, “They closed tonight …” and attempted to tell us where we should go to eat. I think he recommended a restaurant down the street because it sold “all kinds of food – Cubano, Mexicano, Americain ...”

Jesse ran back to the RV for change. Returning in a hurry, he said, “I want to get out the video camera, but I’m afraid it could cause trouble.” I wish he could have, because I can’t begin to describe it all!

The longhaired woman sauntered toward us to give us her history, opinions, and advise us about the bus schedule. “The bus will be here any time … my family used to have a lot of property in Key West, but my husband had to be a drug dealer, and we lost everything … now I have to live on” [multiplied increase in volume] “f*****g Stock Island!” Then she walked into the street and back to the pavilion.

A small, thin, person of indefinite gender, with a very short haircut, an unbuttoned shirt, and a bra staggered toward us from the street corner. I will call the person She. She muttered a lot, but we had no idea what was being said because she was not lucid. She seemed to be sympathetic towards the long-haired woman, and possibly trying to prevent a fight.

The next character was a woman who rode past on a bicycle. The long-haired woman jumped from the bench and ran into the street to berate her for riding past, and that she was going to get an “ass-whoopin’.” The cyclist called the long-haired woman a “meth ho” and rode on past. “Meth Ho” chased her unsteadily down the street yelling, “Nobody loves you! At least my mama loves me and fixed up her garage for me to sleep in! You’re just a *&#@* TV dinner ho!”

Jesse and I now quietly discussed the possibility that we might need a taxi. The woman on the bicycle was returning and the long-haired woman ran back into the street shouting epithets. The TV Dinner Ho turned down a side street to take a safer route, but the Meth Ho ran across to catch up with her in an alley, and did not return.

Fortunately, a taxi arrived and Jesse waved him down. We made it to the pier just in time for the sunset, and that was the most beautiful sunset of our visit, so I’m glad we didn't take the Spirit Bus.

One more transportation note: taxis are expensive. It cost about $20 to go five miles. Parking for more than two hours may cost about the same. Our best decision was to drive the RV to Fort Zachary Taylor, pay the $6 to visit the fort/park, and ride our bicycles to tour the city. The fort is interesting to see, and it has a very nice beach!

So that’s the story of our first evening in Key West. Stay tuned for more!

Busy Week

We had such a great time in the Keys! We snorkeled around the reef in Key West, watched Dominique and his Flying Housecats in Mallory Square, bicycled and shopped and saw the sights. I will write more for posting and upload some photos and maybe videos when they are ready. I'm posting this picture just to prove that I was there! Some people would argue that Harlingen, Texas is farther south than Key West, but I'm not getting into that debate. More and better shots to follow!

"One Way Ticket"

I have been mentally composing the story of our first voyage in our little sailboat because it was a great time. It’s OK, you can laugh at our expense…..we did!

We had promised the lady who gave the boat to us that we would take her daughter out on the weekend before Easter. I was a little apprehensive because it was somewhat windy, and I didn't have experience with it, but Jesse said we would launch by the causeway so we could experiment with it where it was less windy. We would take it out alone before we took the daughter. That was almost the best decision of the day.

The sail is made with a sleeve that slips down over the mast, so it can’t be raised or lowered. Before we took it out I thought that was a bad design, and after we took it out, I discovered that I was right. We had to put the sail up while still on shore and after about thirty minutes of struggling we jumped in, and were OFF in a FLASH!

We learned right away the truth of the claim that it was a fast runner! No time to trim or even get seated before we found ourselves halfway towards a little barrier island where the river runs into the Gulf. I was so afraid I was going to do something to mess us up, but I didn't even have TIME to do anything (other than try to prevent myself falling out) before a big wave completely CAPSIZED us! I had a split second to realize it was going over, and pushed myself astern so it would not bonk me on the head.

Now we were dangling in the water beside a useless upside-down boat, with its sail pointing at the bottom of the sea, and I was holding the only paddle in one hand. We quickly learned how beneficial our short wetsuits were because that water was cold! I must have repeated a dozen times, "Jesse, tell me what to do. I don't know what to do....." At last, he said, "Let's try rocking it." So, with him on one side, standing in the keel, and me pushing from the other side, it rocked like a concrete seesaw. Because the sail created a lot of drag, it wouldn't turn over.

After several exhausting minutes, Jesse said, "We have to get this sail off," so he dived under and disconnected the mast, and then returned to his post on the keel and we began to seesaw again. After about 5 minutes of aaallllmmmooossstttt getting it righted, a wave assisted at just the right time (never mind that it was a wave that tipped us in the first place), and the boat popped upright. Yay!

Jesse managed to hoist himself into the boat, and I pushed the mast and sail so he could pull them in, and then I bobbed in the waves alone, asking, "OK, what do we do NOW?" That was when I noticed Jesse had a little cut on his forehead. "Your head is bleeding."

He answered, “That explains the headache – I don’t remember being hit. Oh, that could attract sharks.”

I knew he was mostly kidding, but retorted, “Gee thanks a lot – seeing that I’m the one in the water!” He laughed and said, “Oh, look! Dolphins!” I turned to look and got a face full of saltwater when a wave swamped me. I coughed and wiped my eyes, and said, “Do you need me to PUSH this thing, or can you help me back in?” The deck was above my head, with nothing to grasp, so there was no way I would be able to get in without a ladder. (Mental note #1: A rope ladder would be a good idea.)

So he grasped my hands and I lunged upwards (that’s how it felt, at least) and then he grabbed my right leg and hauled in my butt and I slid gracefully into the boat. “Are you OK?” he asked. “Yeah,” I replied, not wanting to admit the word “thirst” into the conversation. (Mental note #2: no matter how long or how far you plan to go, put the water on board first!) “Where are the dolphins?” He pointed them out, about five of them leaping the whitecaps. So beautiful and exciting!

We sat quietly for a moment, contemplating our dilemma. Suddenly Jesse laughed out loud and said, “That was the most fun I’ve had in a long time!”

I started to laugh then, relieved that he wasn’t upset, but thinking he might be delirious from the knock on the noggin. “It’s not over yet! How are we going to get back? Only one paddle….” I reminded him, holding it up. “Look, I saved it. I’m so proud.”

“It would have floated,” he reminded me. “It’s wood.”

“Yeah … but it could have floated away,” I insisted. (Actually I hadn’t been sure it would float - some woods don't.)

"You did good,” he said with a smile. He must have realized I needed some reassurance. Or maybe he recognized the early warning signs of mutiny.

“Let’s see if we can get the sail back up,” he answered. So after a few minutes of fumbling with a soaking wet 60 square foot piece of canvas while rocking on the waves, we managed to re-attach the mast without re-dumping ourselves. Alas, we found that a tiny, important piece of steel that holds the sail to the boom had been lost (Mental note #3: spare parts are optional, but could be helpful). Jesse thought he could hold the sail and the boom if I could man the tiller. Yeah, right?

So he fought the boom into place, and pulled the sail out a little, and we immediately headed away from shore! “Grab the tiller! We need the ass-end turned around!” Yes, Jesse is a sailor. He may have forgotten the seaman term for the back of the boat, but his language was still colorful enough to qualify.

I fought the tiller while Jesse fought the sail, and we managed to get about halfway to shore before the wind whipped the sail from his hands. He decided to paddle while I tried to maintain an even keel. I repeat, Yeah, right?

So he paddled and I steered, then we rested a few minutes and watched the dolphins. We had just started again when two men on jet skis came to our rescue. The friend - still patiently waiting on shore - had asked them to give us a tow. Jesse was happy because his arms were worn out. All I could think was, Water! My lips felt as if they had shriveled to nothing and my skin felt shrunken. The jet ski guys said they had been stranded the week before and paddled over 6 hours before they got to shore. Jesse didn't tell me that until we got to shore.......

Jet skis look fast when they travel alone, but they are slow when towing a sailboat. We were getting close to shore when the guys towing us decided to increase their speed, and naturally, something else went wrong. The boom slipped off the mast – again – and pinned me to the inside of the boat!

I yelled (maybe demonstrating my grasp of sailor’s expletives, but I don’t remember), and Jesse yelled at the guys towing us, and we stopped so I could be extricated. “Are you ok?” Jesse asked for at least the second time that day as he disconnected the mast and boom again. “Yes, I think so,” I said a little shakily. “No cracked ribs and I’m still in the boat!” I didn’t notice any injuries until the next day when baseball-sized bruises appeared on my arms.

At last we made it to shore. I helped pull the boat out and walked straight to the ice chest for water. Aaahhhh!

We decided to sit in our beach chairs to eat our sandwiches, look at the sea and relax. (Mental note #4: that was the best decision of the day) We were exhausted, but still laughing! While we ate, we tried to estimate how far we had gone (maybe a half mile from shore into the bay) and decided to modify the sail so it can be raised and lowered - good idea, right? What brilliant mind thought a stationary sail was a good idea?

Jesse repeated that he hadn’t had so much fun in a long time, and then asked again if I was ok. “I’m fine,” I answered. “Just tired and thirsty. Is your head all right?” I checked his cut and it didn’t appear to need stitches, though I would have Steri-Stripped it if we’d had them. “It hurts a little, but it’s ok.”

We sat quietly for a few minutes. “I wish we could have watched the dolphins longer,” I said.

He patted my shoulder and said, “You’re a good sport.”

Le Menage

Photos of Delilah with a kitten, Onyx the dachshund, Angel, a Bichon Frise and Leonard, aka Lenny.

Free at last, free at last ... ...

... ... for the time being.

I finished a class on June 5, and still have that unburdened feeling! The last week was pretty intense because, in addition to writing an 8-page research paper, a weekly 1-page writing assignment and 100+ pages of reading were due. Mix that with the continuous job search and you have a recipe for Chaos, which is a pretty good description of last week. For the summer I have several papers to write, but no classes, so I will have more control of my study time (she said hopefully).

I am currently working on a blog post that will tell the story of my first experience in a small sailboat, and hope to upload it, along with a few pictures and maybe a video within a few days. The excursion didn't quite work out as planned.....but I'm anticipating the next one and hoping it will contain more sailing ... less bailing. :)

Also, we plan to take an RV trip through the Keys in just 10 days, so that should provide some interesting posts!

I think that's everything for now. It looks like there might be enough sunshine to take Delilah the kitty downstairs so she can lie in the sun beside the pool -- away from her nemesis, Lenny. Today I'll post pet photos because I forgot to ask permission from Jesse's sons to post theirs.

Hasta la vista!

More Family

Another photo, this time of my daughter, Rachel and her husband Rick. They are the parents of Lela, born December 23, 2008. She is named for my Grandmother, Lela Cox, of whom you will probably learn more as I ramble.