I was wrong about the helicopters yesterday. They were not part of a US Navy Seals training program. They were out spraying mosquitos.

The lower keys have a mosquito problem. It would be a bad one if not for the Mosquito Control Board. An elected group, its responsibilty is to eradicate and/or keep the mosquito population down. Besides spraying periodically by air, they have trucks driving around in the middle of the night spraying. In addition, surprise visits are permitted on one’s property by Board’s employees. They search for pools of water where mosquitos tend to breed. If any are discovered, the property dweller is required to correct the problem.

The Mosquito Control Board does an excellent job. Rarely would you know there are mosquitos in the lower keys.

A couple of years ago, I was at Boondocks up in big Pine on a Saturday evening for dinner. Boondocks is an open outside bar. You could cut the mosquito population with a knife! I did not know about the problem. Had I, I would not have gone. The locals in the area all had cans of mosquito spray. They were periodically spraying themselves while eating. Fortunately, they were kind enough to let me use their spray. The Mosquito Control Board did not operate that far north at the time.

This past year there was a news release from somewhere that Key West had a dengue fever problem. We had no problem. The news article was in error and corrected in due course. Dengue fever would definitely be a problem were it not for the Mosquito Control Board.

It was haircut time yesterday morning! Me and Lori. She’s a chaming person. I enjoy my haircuts with her. It is almost a social event.

I had an early afrternoon visit with my internest, Dr. Jackie Leffterts. You will recall from yesterday’s blog, I thought/knew she would be upset with me.

She was.

It has only been two months since my last visit. I let things slide. Drinking and smoking, weight up, blood pressure up. She read me out like a drill sargent. I have to see her again in two weeks. She expects results!

Kurt and I went out last night.

We started at the Chart Room. He knew everyone. It was like a bartenders’ convention.

Then to the Hot Tin Roof for dinner. Nate, not my Nate, a new bartender there. He and Kurt old friends. John the Manager was genuinely thrilled to see Kurt, also. They are likewise old friends. At one point when Kurt left to visit the men’s room, they both told me what a great guy Kurt was and has always been.

There were a couple of very lovely young ladies at the bar. Heather and Alison. Both from Pensecola. They were staying at the Ocean Key House for a couple of days. Both are critical care/ICU nurses.

They were waiting at the bar for deserts to take to their room. Kurt and I immediately told them about Better Than Sex. A desert only restaurant on Petronia Street. I suspect they will be going there tonight.

We finished the evening on the deck at my home. I have been doing some repair/ maintenance work that had been let go for a while. Kurt wanted to see it. We sat by the water and chatted a while. It was a calm evening. Not even the water was moving.

Golf this morning!

Enjoy your day!