Where do I begin…..

The bite on my thigh is getting out of hand. My left thigh is now 1/3 larger than normal. And flaming red. Looks sort of freaky in the mirror. Especially when compared to the normal right thigh.

There is now no pain or discomfort. Only a slight itch which I am able to ignore.

I showed it to son in law Corey yesterday afternoon. He thought it was a brown recluse spider bite. He has seen three.

I looked brown recluse spider up on the internet. Looks like what I got.

Could be dangerous if it is. The flesh in the area of the bite dies.

Michael at the Chart Room is familiar with brown recluse spider bites. Knows of and has seen 2 here in Key West.

I was getting nervous. Called my doctor. She says cannot be a brown recluse spider bite. They are not indiginous to the keys. I did not tell her what Corey or Michael had said. She called in a prescription for an antibiotic, gave me instructions to get and take 2 over the counter items also and told me to get to the emergency room.

The purpose of the emergency room was to extract the needle I thought I had in the thigh from whatever bit me.

I thought the emergency room might be going too far. I decided to wait till today to see if I could clearly see a needle. I cannot this morning, but am not sure. So at some point I may end up in the emergency room.

She also told me to use hot compresses to hopefully work the needle out. I did last night.

I had 2 drinks before all this last night. Those, plus whatever medications I took, knocked me on my ass. I soon fell asleep after the hot packs and slept soundly for almost 6 hours. It was the best sleep I have had in a long time.

So much for whatever bit me.

I had lunch yesterday at Harpoon Harrys. I had never been there before. It is an old time corner restaurant a block off the waterfront. A bar to sit at plus booths and tables. A friendly staff. Primarily a locals place.

Simple food, cheaply priced.

I have had this desire for ham and eggs for several days. If I told you they were the best eggs I have ever had, you are going to laugh. But they were! They advertise their eggs as fresh eggs. Whatever, they were absolutely delicious.

Then it was a short walk to Mel Fisher’s Turtle Cannery Museum. The last time I was there was opening night. Too many people, too crowded for me to really absorb the place.

I spent about an hour walking around and reading and viewing the exhibits. Very interesting! I learned a lot of things about the turtle canning business. Which is now long gone.

At one time it was a major industry in Key West. The keys had its own turtles and turtles were also imported from various parts of the Caribbean. The turtles were killed and made into foodstuff here in Key West. Soup and meat. Thereafter eaten here and additionally exported all over the world.

The turtle industry died overnight in the early 1960s. A scientist wrote a book about the destruction of turtles because of overfishing them. Florida Governor Askew signed a law restricting the killing of turtles unless they were 41 inches in length. The shell had to be 41 inches, from head to tail.

There were few, if any, turtles that length. So the turtle cannery was out of business and that was the end of turtles as a foodstuff.

Interestingly, it is only now some 50 years later that turtles are reaching 41 inches in length. So perhaps they were being overfished and were in fact an endangered species.

Linda works at the Turtle Cannery Museum. She is the hostess, greeter, question answerer and what have you.

She at one time worked at the Merl Fisher Museum and also has bartended around town. I knew her from the Chart Room.

We spent a bit chatting. Linda impressed me. She was extremely knowledgable about the museum and turtles in general. A excellent museum representative!

I watched golf on TV during the late afternoon. Ken Perry had quite a run! Shot a 64 and is in first place by 2 strokes over Tiger Woods. Going to be a great final round this afternoon when they go head to head.

Since I had stayed in the night before because of the bite, I had to go out last evening. Two nights in a row confined to home is hard for me to take!

I started at the Chart room. Sean and Kathleen there. Enjoyed their company over a drink. Spoke with Michael the bartender. He was gearing up for a half shirt party later in the evening at the Chart Room. No one seemed to know exactly what a half shirt meant.

Then I hit Antonia’s for dinner. A good crowd. The food was top shelf as usual.

Judge Audlin came over to say hello. I have not seen him in a few months. He is a terrific guy and an outstanding judge. It was good to see him again.

Today is Sunday. That means tonight is Larry Smith’s Sunday Showcase at the Wine Galley. Larry’s guest performer tonight is everyone’s good friend, Yankee Jack. Be sure to see him. He sings some of the greatest tunes, most of which he has written himself.

The line that sticks in my mind is from a song Yankee wrote while he was divorcing his first wife…I can’t get over her till she gets out from under him!

That’s Yankee! A talent!

Have a good day!

5 comments on “

  1. Hi Louis,
    Take care of your leg! I've had 2 friends in KW who were bitten by brown recluse spiders and I know they can get ugly.
    I feel like I should know the Linda you mentioned, but I can't put a face with the name. What does she look like?
    Hopefully, I'll see you this week. My mother is having some health issues and I'm going to try to get her in to see the doctor tomorrow morning. Since she is nearly 91 and I am her only child, I will not be leaving unless she is okay.
    Take care of yourself and I hope to see you soon. xoxo

  2. Louis! The Brown Recluse Spider does indeed exist in Key West. The gentleman we hired to re-build our deck in the backyard pointed one out when I was assiting him ripping out the old deck. I confirmed by lookng it up on the internet. I suggest getting a 'specialist' asap to have it handled properly – or if you are going to be stubborn, at least pour rum on the wound 😉 – Mike and Tina

  3. Louis,
    The leg does not sound good. It's hard to tell on the phone or internet. If your Doc did not see you, you should not delay things and go to the ER today so someone can look it over. It sounds like either all inflammation and allergic reaction from a bite or you've developed a cellulitis. Warm soaks and antibiotics are fine but get a professional evaluation so you don't get any complications.

  4. Hi Louis… All three posts are right…..Love your blog…Saw ya last month at the Pier House…Dont wait for it to get better.Please get it looked into….

  5. Hi Louis, stop being a typical MAN and get someone to look at that bite, talking about it without seeing it is not going to be the answer!!!!!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *